1. Field of the Invention
Air conditioner and evaporative cooler housings, especially those mounted on rooftops, are most often constructed of metal and are further often positioned such that they are exposed to direct sunlight incident thereon. Accordingly, these housings may become highly heated by solar energy with the result that the air conditioning or evaporative cooler structure housed therein is unnecessarily subject to ambient heat loads resulting in reduced efficiency of the air conditioning or evaporative cooler units. Accordingly, a need exists for a sun shroud structure whereby substantial portions of such housings may be shaded from direct sunlight falling incident thereon.
In addition, air conditioning components within an exteriorly mounted housings include condenser units which are primarily air cooled and have a tendency to heat the walls of the housing from the interior thereof. Accordingly, even though a sun shroud may be provided for preventing sunlight from falling directly upon the housing, a further need exists for facilitating air circulation about the exterior surfaces of the housings in order to cool a buildup of heat in the housing walls as a result of radiant heat energy from within the housings.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different forms of shroud structures including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,874,551, 3,006,498, 3,938,694, 4,288,951, 4,376,082, 4,385,474 and 4,498,912. However, these previously known forms of shrouds do not include the overall combination of structural features of the instant invention which enable the shroud to be manufactured for use in conjunction with housings of different sizes by merely changing the dimensions of one of the components of the shroud.